the wheels or tyres have different dimensions.
The wheel brakes or suspension components may also be damaged. There is a risk of acci-
dent.
Interchange front and rear wheels only if the
wheels and tyres are of the same dimensions.
! On vehicles fitted with a tyre pressure mon-
itor, electronic components are located in the wheel.
Tyre-fitting tools should not be applied in thearea of the valve, as this could damage the
electronic components.
Only have tyres changed at a qualified spe-
cialist workshop.
Interchanging the front and rear wheels of dif-
fering dimensions can render the general oper-
ating permit invalid.
Observe the instructions and safety notes in the "Changing a wheel" section (Y page 342).
The wear patterns on the front and rear tyres
differ depending on the operating conditions.
Interchange the wheels before a clear wear pat-
tern has formed on the tyres. Front tyres typi-
cally wear more on the shoulders, while rear
tyres wear more in the centre.
On vehicles that have front and rear wheels of
the same size, you can interchange the wheels
every 5,000 to 10,000 km depending on the
degree of tyre wear. Ensure the direction of
rotation is maintained.
Clean the contact surfaces of the wheel and the
brake disc thoroughly every time a wheel is
interchanged. Check the tyre pressure and, if
necessary, restart the tyre pressure loss warn-
ing system or the tyre pressure monitor. Direction of rotation
Tyres with a specified direction of rotation have additional benefits, e.g. if there is a risk of aqua-
planing. These advantages can only be gained if the tyres are fitted corresponding to the direc-
tion of rotation.
An arrow on the sidewall of the tyre indicates its correct direction of rotation. Storing wheels
Store wheels in a cool, dry and preferably dark
place if they are not being used. Protect the
tyres against oil, grease, petrol and diesel. Fitting a wheel
Preparing the vehicle X
Stop the vehicle on solid, non-slippery and
level ground.
X Apply the electric parking brake manually.
X Move the front wheels to the straight-ahead
position.
X Vehicles with manual transmission: fully
depress the clutch pedal and engage first or
reverse gear.
X Vehicles with automatic transmission:
shift the transmission to position
j.
X Switch off the engine.
X Vehicles without KEYLESS-GO: remove the
key from the ignition lock.
X Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO start-function
or KEYLESS-GO: open the driver's door.
The vehicle electronics are now in position
u. This is the same as “key removed”.
X Vehicles with KEYLESS-GO start function
or KEYLESS-GO: remove the Start/Stop but-
ton from the ignition lock (Y page 144).
X If included in the vehicle equipment, remove
the tyre-change tool kit from the vehicle.
X Additionally secure the vehicle against rolling
away (Y page 166).
i Apart from some country-specific variants,
vehicles are not equipped with a tyre-change
tool kit. Some tools for changing a wheel are
specific to the vehicle. For more information
on which tools are required to perform a
wheel change on your vehicle, consult a quali-
fied specialist workshop.
Necessary tyre-changing tools may include,
for example:
R Jack
R Wheel chock
R Wheel wrench Changing a
wheel
343Wheels an d tyres Z
